As the song started playing, Julia’s feet began to move as if on their own, as if she were numb to the world around her. She tuned out the shocked faces seated on the benches. Everything seemed to happen in a blur. She felt detached from her own body, as though she were watching herself walk down the aisle from afar, oblivious to her surroundings. It was like another person was walking down that aisle, but it was truly her.
The ceremony was a quiet, somber event, unlike the usual jubilant ceremonies of Painswick. As she looked at Harold, she saw a man carrying a burden of loneliness. Suddenly she felt so sorry for him.